International Journal of Agricultural Management and Development: 5 (4)

Open Access Article

1 - Studying of the Role of Social Capital in the Motivation of Students for Job Creation (Case Study: Students of Islamic Azad University of Karaj)
Saadi Fathollahi Galambahri Ebrahim Meykhosh Jamshid Eghbali

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the role of social capital in the motivation of students for job creation. The statistical population of this study included all students of Islamic Azad University of Karaj (N=3200) that 178 cases of these students were More

The main purpose of this study was to investigate the role of social capital in the motivation of students for job creation. The statistical population of this study included all students of Islamic Azad University of Karaj (N=3200) that 178 cases of these students were selected as research samples according to the Cochran formula. Data were collected by using a regulated questionnaire whose content validity was approved by faculty members of Agricultural development and management of University of Tehran. Social capital was measured in the form of four components including social confidence, social coherence, social communication and social participation. In addition, five items were used to measure students' motivation for job creation. To determine the reliability of measuring instruments after the pretest (30 people), Cronbach's alpha coefficient was determined that its rate for variables of job creation motivation, social coherence, social participation, social communication and social confidence was 0.73, 0.76, 0.69, 0.71 and 0.72, respectively. Decision tree was used as the analysis techniques to study role of social capital in the motivation of job creation and results showed students who were more moderate in terms of social capital, had more motivation for job creation. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

2 - An Examination Some of Educational – Extension Factors Influencing Use of Transgenic Plants (Case Study: Ilam, Iran)
Mohammad Bagher Arayesh

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of educational – extension factors on the use of transgenic plants. This study was conducted through a survey design. The research was an applied study type. The research method of this study is descriptive-corre More

The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of educational – extension factors on the use of transgenic plants. This study was conducted through a survey design. The research was an applied study type. The research method of this study is descriptive-correlation. Statistical population of the study consisted of all of biotechnology experts of Research Center of Agriculture of Ilam Province (N=63). Census method was used in this study. A questionnaire was the main tool which the Face and Content its validity was confirmed by Panel of University Experts. . Reliability Coefficient (Cronbach's alpha) of the questionnaire was 92%. Results showed that the use of media (radio and TV) was the most important factor in the use of transgenic plants. The result of Spearman correlation coefficients showed that, there was a significant relationship between the variables such as the use of communication media, communication with extension professionals, and scientific rank of professional with use of transgenic plants. Multiple regression analysis results showed that varriables like scientific rank, relationship with extension professionals and mass media have positive effect on the dependent variable of application of transgenic plants, describing 53.2% of the changes of the mentioned dependent variable. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

3 - Determinants of Adoption of Mini-Tuber Seed Potato: A Case in Ardabil Province of Iran
Asghar Bagheri

The aim of this study was to examine factors affecting adoption of mini-tuber seed potato. Survey research design was used in this study. A sample of 100 potato growers who were informed about mini-tuber was selected and divided into adopter and non-adopter groups. Ques More

The aim of this study was to examine factors affecting adoption of mini-tuber seed potato. Survey research design was used in this study. A sample of 100 potato growers who were informed about mini-tuber was selected and divided into adopter and non-adopter groups. Questionnaire was used as the instrument for data collection and was validated by a panel of experts. A pilot study was conducted for reliability and Cronbach’s alphas obtained 0.77- 0.87. Results revealed that other farmers were the main source of information for respondents. Higher yield, healthy seeds, marketability and high quality of potato produced from mini-tuber seeds were the main important reasons of adoption. Non-adopters mentioned high cost of mini-tuber seed as the main factor for rejection. The result of t-test showed that adopters had used more farm machineries and equipments. Result further showed that among farming unit characteristics, the number of pieces of owned farmland had negative effect on the adoption. However, the adoption was positively affected by the extent of owned farmlands and extent of owned potato acreage. Among personal characteristics, education level, number of literate household members had positive effect while farmers’ age and farming experience had negative effect on the adoption, respectively. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

4 - Estimating the Value of Improvement in Lake Urmia’s Environmental Situation Using Choice Experiment
Mina Salehnia Baballah Hayati Mohammad Ghahremanzadeh Morteza Molaei

The Lake Urmia and its satellite wetlands have been selected as a demonstration site for the United Nations Development Program / Global Environment Facility / Department of Environment Conservation of Iranian Wetlands Project. This project aims to demonstrate reduction More

The Lake Urmia and its satellite wetlands have been selected as a demonstration site for the United Nations Development Program / Global Environment Facility / Department of Environment Conservation of Iranian Wetlands Project. This project aims to demonstrate reduction of the major threats of this wetland protected area coordinated through an integrated management plan. A choice experiment was developed to examine public preferences and elicit their willingness to pay on improvements in lake’s indicators toward good environmental status. A pilot choice experiment study was administered in Urmia municipality and the data were analyzed using a random parameter logit model. The results revealed that residents of this municipality might strongly prefer improvement in water quantity and were willing to pay significant amounts to promote current water level to the highest level. Furthermore, water quality, numbers of flamingos and Artemia stock were identified as the next important issues which warranted additional management attention. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

5 - Identifying the Organizational Intelligence of Agriculture-Jihad Organization in Guilan Province, Iran
Hajar Eftekhari Mohammad Sadegh Allahyari

In the modern world, organizations are considered as intelligent systems. Increased Organizational Intelligence (OI) helps organizations to effectively analyze their data, store results, and use outcomes for making professional decisions. The purpose of this study was t More

In the modern world, organizations are considered as intelligent systems. Increased Organizational Intelligence (OI) helps organizations to effectively analyze their data, store results, and use outcomes for making professional decisions. The purpose of this study was to measure OI in Agriculture- Jihad Organization in Guilan. A sample of 201 out of personnel was selected from in Agriculture- Jihad Organization in Guilan (N=1296) through a proportional cluster sampling technique. The instrument of the study included 7 intelligence constructs measured against 49 items. Results indicated a medium level of OI in the Guilan Agricultural- Jihad Organization. Among the intelligence components, ‘shared fate’ received highest ratings and ‘appetite for change’ received the lowest ratings. The confirmatory factor analysis indicated that of the seven intelligence components, the ‘heart’ explained highest proportion of variance for describing OI. Findings have implication for designing policies and developing programs for enhancing the OI. It is recommended that Agriculture- Jihad Organization in Guilan should examine and measure their OI and identify strategies to achieve a high level of OI needed for professional success. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

6 - The Preparation of Updated Vegetation Maps by Processing Satellite Images: A Way in Sustainable Management of Agriculture
Ali Mohammadi Torkashvand Shahryar Sobhe Zahedi

An important factor in sustainable agriculture and economic management is to calculate areas under different crops that the inputs of agriculture connect to this topic. Planning of agricultural mechanization, fertilizer and pesticide requirements, pests and diseases con More

An important factor in sustainable agriculture and economic management is to calculate areas under different crops that the inputs of agriculture connect to this topic. Planning of agricultural mechanization, fertilizer and pesticide requirements, pests and diseases control, estimates of agricultural production, income and tax and financial planning, all linked to the cultivated areas and estimation of agricultural products. One of the problems in the agricultural section of Iran is the lack of accurate statistics of cultivated crops areas that this is much higher for horticultural products. Over time, it varies the area of land under cultivated crop, and orchards and bare lands; consequently the estimation of yield is not done as well due to these changes caused some problems in planning and management. Land Surveying is time-consuming and expensive, while mapping farms and orchards lands through classified satellite images is a high speed and low cost way. Nowadays, the satellite image processing techniques have developed for the estimation of crops, pest control, agricultural macro planning and preparing updated maps. A principal problem is the interference of plants spectral reflections that different methods have been proposed by researchers to differentiate vegetation on satellite images. At this paper, remote sensing imagery in mapping vegetation or various plants are investigated. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

7 - Extent of the Use of Drought Management Practices by Farmers in Tafresh County
Maryam Bagheri Mehrdad Nikanami Hossein Shabanali Fami

The extent of utilization of drought management practices by the farmers of Tafresh County was studied in a descriptive-correlational research. Statistical population consisted of all farmers in Tafresh County which summed up to around 9061 people out of which 300 farme More

The extent of utilization of drought management practices by the farmers of Tafresh County was studied in a descriptive-correlational research. Statistical population consisted of all farmers in Tafresh County which summed up to around 9061 people out of which 300 farmers were taken as the sample in accordance with Cochran’s formula. The main tool of the study was a questionnaire. The validity of the questionnaire was confirmed by a panel of expert consisting of some faculty members of Islamic Azad University, GarmsarBranch and the University of Tehran, and the reliability of the questionnaire was estimated as to be 0.848 using Cronbach Alpha. The results of correlation test indicated a direct, significant relationship between the extent of utilization of drought management practices and the variables of agricultural activities experience and the level of farmers’ social capabilities at 0.01 level. Moreover, there was a negative significant relationship among age, farming experience and the application of drought management practices at 0.01 level. Finally, the results of multiple regression analysis showed that three variables, i.e. extent of farmers’ social capabilities, experience of agricultural activities and the age of the farmers, had the greatest influence on the extent of utilization of drought management practices. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

8 - Energy Efficiency Analysis and Modeling the Relationship between Energy Inputs and Wheat Yield in Iran
Fakher kardoni Majid Jami-Al Ahmadi Mohammad Reza Bakhshi

Wheat is the dominant cereal crop constituting the first staple food in Iran. This paper studies the energy consumption patterns and the relationship between energy inputs and yield for Wheat production in Iranian agriculture during the period 1986 – 2008. The res More

Wheat is the dominant cereal crop constituting the first staple food in Iran. This paper studies the energy consumption patterns and the relationship between energy inputs and yield for Wheat production in Iranian agriculture during the period 1986 – 2008. The results indicated that total energy inputs in irrigated and dryland wheat production increased from 29.01 and 9.81 GJ ha-1 in 1986 to 44.67 and 12.35 GJ ha-1 in 2008, respectively. Similarly, total output energy rose from 28.87 and 10.43 GJ ha-1 in 1986 to 58.53 and 15.77 GJ ha-1 in 2008, in the same period. Energy efficiency indicators, input–output ratio, energy productivity, and net energy have improved over the examined period. The results also revealed that non-renewable, direct, and indirect energy forms had a positive impact on the output level. Moreover, the regression results showed the significant effect of irrigation water and seed energies in irrigated wheat and human labor and fertilizer in dryland wheat on crop yield. Results of this study indicated that improvement of fertilizer efficiency and reduction of fuel consumption by modifying tillage, harvest method, and other agronomic operations can significantly affect the energy efficiency of wheat production in Iran. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

9 - Factors Affecting Risk Management among Women Rice Farmers in Sari, Iran
Mehdi Charmchian Langerodi

The present study investigated factors affecting risk management by women rice farmers in the township of Sari in Iran. The statistical population comprised 1677 women who cultivate rice in Sari; 248 women were selected for the study using stratified random sampling. Th More

The present study investigated factors affecting risk management by women rice farmers in the township of Sari in Iran. The statistical population comprised 1677 women who cultivate rice in Sari; 248 women were selected for the study using stratified random sampling. The data was analyzed using descriptive and inferential statistics with SPSSWin16 software. The Chronbach’s alpha was 0.84 and the ordinal theta was 0.89. It was found that the women rice farmers were more willing to consult with agricultural experts, were aware of appropriate planting and harvesting times and used collaborative rice farming, such as for planting, in their risk management. Risk management among women rice cultivators in Sari County was influenced by numerous factors. It was found that 29.3% of the variance in risk management by the women was determined by the extent of financial difficulty, their education levels and borrowing resources. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

10 - Estimation of Water Demand of Agriculture Sector by Water-Yield Function (Case Study: Sistan Province)
Zahra Ghaffari Moghadam

In this study, yield-water and profit function was used to obtain water demand function in agriculture sector. The results showed that the ratio of actual to potential Evapotranspiration had positive, significant effecton the ratio of actual to potential yield for wheat More

In this study, yield-water and profit function was used to obtain water demand function in agriculture sector. The results showed that the ratio of actual to potential Evapotranspiration had positive, significant effecton the ratio of actual to potential yield for wheat and barley. Also, square ratio of actual to potential Evapotranspiration had negative, significant relationship. After estimation of product function, water demand function for agriculture sector was obtained by profit function. Price elasticity of water demand for agriculture was -1.10 being less than -1 and showing that price policies can be an important factor in the control of non-optimum use of their valuable inputs. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

11 - The Effective Factors In Nutritional Management Knowledge And A Proper Educational Plan For Broiler Farmers, A Case Study in Garmsar Township
Ali Nouri Emamzadeh Mohammad Sadegh Sabouri

The study was conducted to determine the effective factors in nutritional management knowledge and design a proper educational plan for broiler farmers in Garmsar Township. The used methodological approach was descriptive-correlation. Eighty-eight questionnaires were co More

The study was conducted to determine the effective factors in nutritional management knowledge and design a proper educational plan for broiler farmers in Garmsar Township. The used methodological approach was descriptive-correlation. Eighty-eight questionnaires were collected and analyzed of 98broiler farmers active in Garmsar. The content and face validity of the questionnaires and reliability of analysis were respectively specified and calculated according to guide, and Cronbach Alpha coefficient was calculated α=0.86 for the whole using SPSS software. Results indicated that role of extension methodsin increasing the knowledge was very low to very high between the different methods. The correlation analysis indicated significant and positive relationships for farm capacity, income level, exhibitive educational methods and survey of modern farms with thefarmers’ knowledge. Results of multiple regression analysis as step by step indicated that two variables of exhibitive and survey educational methods explain significantly 56.2 percentages of the total variance. Therefore, theregression equation was: the plan = 0.664 (Exhibitive method) + 0.292 (Survey method). In conclusion, best educational plan is education of appropriate literatures with emphasis on the priorities via best methods especially exhibitive and survey methods. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

12 - Factors Influencing the Policyholders’ Satisfaction with the Performance of Insurance Fund in the Field of Agricultural Products: the Case Study of Wheat Growers in Ilam
Esfandyar Mohammadi Roya Eshraghi

Since insuring agricultural products is one of the effective instruments for risk management in agricultural sector, it can reduce risk avoidance among farmers and increase their competence in using production factors and, consequently, increases their inclination towar More

Since insuring agricultural products is one of the effective instruments for risk management in agricultural sector, it can reduce risk avoidance among farmers and increase their competence in using production factors and, consequently, increases their inclination towards investment in agricultural sectors. The purpose of the current study was to investigate the factors influencing policyholders’ satisfaction with the performance of insurance funds in the field of agricultural products. Statistical population consisted of all farmers (wheat growers) living in Ilam Province who had insured their products in 2014. The population for this search was policyholders of agricultural insurance fund in Ilam township that amounted to 250 out of which 158 ones were sampled by Morgan’s sampling table and simple random method of sampling. A questionnaire was utilized as a data collection instrument. The reliability and validity of this instrument was verified by the judgments of the experts of Islamic Azad University of Ilam and Cronbach alpha coefficients (estimated to be 0.80). The data were analyzed by descriptive and inferential statistics using SPSSwin19 Software Package. It was found out that 68% of variations in policyholders’ satisfaction with the performance of insurance fund in the field of agricultural products were influenced by variables such as orientations towards insuring products, the performance of insurance fund, providing services and facilities by the insurance fund, and the promptness and skill of insurance fund employees. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

13 - Management Strategies of Perceived Risk Associated with Moringa Products by Consumers in Ilorin Metropolis, Kwara State, Nigeria
O.E. Ayinde K. F. Omotesho J.O. Animashaun

This study focused on examining the management strategies of perceived risk associated with Moringa products by consumers in Ilorin metropolis with view to rank the perceived risk associated with Moringa product; assess the different strategies employed by consumers to More

This study focused on examining the management strategies of perceived risk associated with Moringa products by consumers in Ilorin metropolis with view to rank the perceived risk associated with Moringa product; assess the different strategies employed by consumers to manage or cope with the risk and to examine socio-economic determinants of consumers’ consumption behaviour in relation to the perceived risk. Primary data were collected with the aid of a well structured questionnaire from 116 sampled respondents in the study area. The data were analysed using descriptive statistics and the Tobit regression model. The result shows that majority of the consumers consume Moringa powder while none of them consume Moringa oil. It was also discovered that most of the respondents do nothing about the risk associated with Moringa consumption, while some of them reduce the quantity consumed per dose or frequency consumption. Awareness of risk and consumption of Moringa powder were found to have significant effect on consumer attitude towards the perceived risk at (p=0.1). The study therefore recommends the need for more clinical trials that will ascertain the long term health implication of Moringa products consumption and the need for marketing agencies to take advantage of the relative ambivalence to Moringa consumption for more advertorial and promotional campaigns. Manuscript profile

Open Access Article

14 - Ex-ante Impact Study on the Integrated Natural Resources Management in the Middle East and North Africa Region Rangelands Rehabilitation Project in Iran
حبیب شهبازی حمیدرضا علیپور اکرم عباسی فر

The purpose of the Integrated Natural Resources Management program in the Middle East and North Africa Region (MENARID) is to bring national investment projects in the field of Integrated Natural Resource Management (INRM). The impact evaluation study tests whether the More

The purpose of the Integrated Natural Resources Management program in the Middle East and North Africa Region (MENARID) is to bring national investment projects in the field of Integrated Natural Resource Management (INRM). The impact evaluation study tests whether the selected technology has significantly contributed to restore and maintain of the ecosystem functions and productivity, and whether has improved the economic and social well-being of the targeted communities. We chose Kamkooyeh Village in the Behabad County where a "Village Development Group" (VDG) has been established by following participatory and capacity building approaches such as social mobilization and micro credit mechanism. A set of complementary activities and interventions were recommended and implemented in the site by consultation and active participation of the local communities and beneficiaries. One of the proposed interventions is rangelands rehabilitation project (RRP). The expected benefits and costs of the RRP were predicted through financial valuation and an ex-ante evaluation of socioeconomic impacts. The financial and social benefit-cost ratio of RRP was estimated to be about 0.97 and 2.15, respectively. Manuscript profile

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